


the sound of fire

by yaoyorozoops



Series: AU-gust 2020 [12]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefighters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blind Date, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Zuko (Avatar) whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26003410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaoyorozoops/pseuds/yaoyorozoops
Summary: the most vivid memory zuko has is of the fire.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: AU-gust 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862572
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	the sound of fire

The most vivid memory Zuko has is of the fire. In every other breath, he can hear, see, smell, and feel what it was like. It had only lasted a few minutes, but those minutes were enough to keep playing on and on in his head even years later.

He had been sleeping at home, 13 years old. He wasn’t sure exactly how he woke up, but it was a few minutes before the fire alarm went off. The smell of smoke was heavy and the cloud came pouring in from under Zuko’s door. Even without seeing the fire itself, he felt the heat pounding onto him, his room acting like an oven. First, he checked the window, remembering one time his mother told him to use it in case of a fire. Unfortunately, their family house had quite a few stories, and Zuko wasn’t willing to jump that far. If his mother had been there, she would have told him they stored a ladder in his closet for this occasion, but Zuko’s mind was in too much shock to think clearly about it.

Next, he checked the door. The knob was hot, but Zuko opened it anyway, telling himself it was the only way out. That was when he saw the fire. It had already reached the opposite side of the stairwell, completely engulfing the other two bedrooms. His heart sank as he realized he needed to figure this out on his own. The fire raged, wefts of blue sparking out from the middle and turning bright gold as they reached out towards him. His lungs burned more than his skin, though, and his instincts told him if he didn’t find a way out quickly, he would lose too much oxygen. And he knew what would happen then.

Zuko checked for any exits, and, besides the windows, there was only one. He had to make it past the stairs.

So, he took a leap of faith. He went towards the flames, despite every sense in his body objecting. He felt like he was being cooked, and the fire was too loud for him to think, like those campsites they always sat by on the Ember Island beach, but multiplied indefinitely.

He almost made it all the way down the stairs. He would've, too, if the ceiling hadn’t given out at the exact second Zuko was passing below. He was knocked downwards, tumbling over the last few stairs, to the foyer. So close to the door, yet so far; he couldn’t gather enough energy from his fading oxygen levels and head trauma to keep going.

The next thing he knew, he was outside, firefighter by his side. And there he was, his dad standing, completely uncaring. And in his arms Zuko’s sister Azula. But the one person that he’d been looking for was gone. His mother was nowhere in sight.

  
  
  
  


“Hello? Sorry I’m a bit late.”

Zuko looked up from the candle he was staring at, returning to better posture.

“I’m Katara.”

“Zuko,” he returned, and smiled. He didn’t feel genuinely happy nor excited about the date, but once he saw her he changed his tune. Even if he didn’t want a girlfriend right now, at least he would be distracted from those memories for a little while. That’s really what most of his interactions boiled down to recently.

“Blind date, right?”

Katara nodded, rolling her eyes. “My friends made me. Sorry if I don’t seem too thrilled.” When she first heard Toph entertain the idea, she turned it down immediately. But, her friend was very persistent, and for some reason she just  _ had _ to meet this guy. And, no, the irony that her blind friend wanted her on a blind date was not lost on any of them, especially Toph.

She was quite happy, though. He was incredibly good looking, despite…

“You’re staring.” Zuko was disappointed. He knew it was always the first thing everyone noticed, but it still hurt a bit every time. “If you’re bothered by it--”

“No, I’m not. I’m sorry.” Katara’s face got red, and she regretted this date more than ever at this moment. “I’m just-- You’re gorgeous.”

Zuko’s eyes widened. His stomach dropped intensely, realizing _of course_ this person was playing a cruel joke on him. Why else would anyone go on a date with him? He wished for any reason to leave. It hit him more now than when he’d first yelled at Ty Lee that only on a blind date would someone want to talk to him.

It was silent for a while.

“You wanna order something to eat?” Katara gave him a concerned look, now that he started spacing off again.

He looked back up, and replied. “Sure,” his voice was shaky and cold, like it normally defaulted to when he reverted back to his angry, lashing-out “bad boy” persona.

As they waited for their food, she asked, “so... what do you do?”

Zuko sighed. He always hated this question. “I work for my family’s business. In advertising.” He always had the most boring answer.

Katara tried to sound at least a bit interested. “Wow! How exactly does that work?”

“Oh, it’s pretty boring. Mostly analyzing graphs and data. What do you do?” Zuko couldn’t get the topic off himself quick enough.

“I’m a firefighter.”

This set off every alarm bell in Zuko’s mind. The scene that played every other breath now was playing constantly, looping as quickly as possible until all he could hear was the fire flickering at him and his own breath inside his ears.

“Zuko? Are you alright?”

He looked back up again, wanting so horribly to just leave. Now, not only was he here for no reason, she was pretending to be nice, and he was in the worst mood, but he was probably having a panic attack.

“I’m sorry.” He rushed out of his seat and to the bathroom, his heart and mind racing, and his lungs straining almost as much as when he’d experienced it the first time.

He leaned on the counter, trying to catch his breath. His palms were sweating so he turned on the faucet and washed them, splashing water on his face to sober himself. Then, he caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. He was about to smash his fist right into his stupid face when--

“Uh, Zuko?” He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he saw her face, all he could think was  _ why is she here? _ And not because it was the wrong bathroom.

  
He pushed her away, trying to calm himself down.

“I’m sorry. Look, I don’t know you, but I do know what a panic attack looks like. My best friend is a therapist. Would it help to have someone to talk to?” Katara tried as hard as she could to be amiable, and she was used to being the mediator for all her friends’ problems.

Zuko was wary, but her presence was already calming him down. She had a soothing voice and everything about her put him at ease. “Alright.”

She led him outside and they sat in the parking lot. Katara placed a tip on their table despite the fact they hadn’t ordered yet.

Zuko took a deep breath, still shaking, and steeled himself. “I was saved by a firefighter. When I was younger, a fire burned down my house.” He stopped himself from saying more, though there was more he wanted to say.

Katara wasn’t sure what to do; after all, she wasn’t the therapist. She simply sat with him for a while, like she’d done with Sokka if he lost a game or broke up with someone. This was the most she knew about a complete stranger, after all. But, he no longer felt like a stranger.

As for Zuko, his heart rate was going down and his breathing was returning. It was nice to have someone who cared.

It was getting dark.

“Want me to wait with you a bit longer?”

Zuko smiled for the first time that evening and nodded. “Thanks.”


End file.
